MIRECC / CoE

SC MIRECC Welcomes a New Director

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Michael (Mike) Cucciare has been selected as the Director of the South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (SC MIRECC). Dr. Cucciare, a clinical psychologist, currently serves as an Associate Director at the VA Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Center of Innovation, Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System. He is also a Professor and the Director of the Center for Health Services Research in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Dr. Cucciare has made significant contributions to the SC MIRECC in both research and leadership roles. A prolific researcher, Dr. Cucciare has secured more than 50 grants and authored over 130 publications on topics including addiction health services research and the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative behavioral health interventions. His work focuses on improving outcomes for individuals with mental health and substance use disorders in outpatient and inpatient care settings.

As Associate Director for Research Training from 2016 to 2024, his efforts were instrumental in advancing the SC MIRECC Research Training Core. He successfully oversaw the SC MIRECC Fellowship Program and Grant Writing Scholars Program and created the Scholar-in-Residence Program, which invites leading experts to educate trainees and early-career faculty on priority topics such as broadening participant recruitment in mental health clinical trials. These initiatives have strengthened the Center’s mission and training opportunities. Since May 2024, following Dr. Mark Kunik’s retirement, Dr. Cucciare has served as one of the acting Directors of the SC MIRECC, ensuring a seamless leadership transition while continuing to foster collaborative research across the Center and the larger VA system.

We are confident that Dr. Cucciare’s exceptional leadership, vision, and dedication to improving care for Veterans will guide the SC MIRECC to make many new accomplishments. Under his guidance, we look forward to continuing our mission of advancing mental health research, education, and clinical innovations to serve Veterans and their families.

Last updated: February 3, 2025